“I went to Dartmouth, do you think my kid will get in?” It’s a question we get often from parents. Legacy admissions are a hard topic to talk about. They can be controversial and many schools simply do not want to discuss them but still do them behind closed doors. Most alumni parents don’t know much about legacy admissions, so we wanted to help by answering some of our most asked questions. Legacy admissions can be confusing, so we wanted to cover all the ins and outs of navigating legacy status at Dartmouth.
Who is a legacy at Dartmouth?
Dartmouth was actually the first school to introduce legacy admissions policies back in the 1920s. The policies were originally to keep out recent immigrants from the school, given at the time many immigrants were Jewish. Dartmouth still looks at legacy status in admissions 100 years later.
Dartmouth never formally defines legacy on their admissions site, but they have written about legacies as “children of alumni” in their publications.
How many legacies are on Dartmouth’s campus?
We comb through data and talk to insiders almost daily because we are obsessed with knowing as much as possible about admissions yearly and keeping up on trends. Usually this includes tracking legacy percentage. Many schools publish a legacy percentage yearly in a freshman profile or survey. Dartmouth does publish a freshman profile, but they do not usually publish the percentage of legacy students per class.
However, they did for the Class of 2025. The Class of 2025 was 13% legacy students. This is pretty standard for the Ivy League. Most Ivy League freshman classes fall between 8-15% legacy any given year. We know what you might be thinking. “Knowing how many legacies on campus is fine, but what I really want to know, is how many get in?”
Colleges recently have been very tight-lipped about legacy acceptance rates. The last time Dartmouth hinted at its legacy admission rate was in 2012. At the time, they said, “ "Legacies do get a bump… Legacies are admitted at twice the rate of other students.” This data is a little too old to take at face value, but we would venture a guess that the legacy acceptance rate is still higher than the overall acceptance rate. However, at Dartmouth, this comes with one big caveat.
Who are the legacy students at Dartmouth?
At Dartmouth, most legacies are also children of donors. Due to a recent lawsuit, it has come out that “the truth is that many are not just any-old children of these universities’ alumni, but those at the intersection of legacy status and large donations.” This isn’t new. Legacy admissions are often tied up with money. It can feel slimy, but at a school like Dartmouth, it happens.
Where does this leave my kid?
Most families can’t donate a laboratory. We understand that. So while that might help, it makes a lot more sense for most families, to work with their students to create a great application.
All legacy candidates need to have strong applications. Legacies get a bad rap as not being as competitive as other students, but this is a misnomer. Legacies are often highly motivated and academically advanced. We work with legacies all the time and usually, they come with a barrage of APs and an impressive resume. They usually come from families that value education and have their own big dreams. This makes them great to work with.
Legacy students have to craft applications that are competitive not only against the general applicant but also amongst other legacies. Think back to 2012. At the time, the legacy acceptance rate was about twice the general. Back then, the acceptance rate was about 13%. This means legacies were looking at an acceptance rate of about 26%. That is still pretty competitive. We don’t think the acceptance rate for legacies is as high as it used to be, but even if it was, that still means the majority of legacies don’t get in.
Dartmouth’s current acceptance rate is now around 6%. It is a highly competitive school. If your child is serious about going, we highly suggest working with a professional. It may sound self-serving, but it can be the difference between a good application and a great application. There are a ton of tips, tricks, and trends that we know to help your student get into their dream school. We hold our clients' hands through what can often be a hugely stressful time. Most 17-year-olds don’t know what makes a great application, but we do. To make a truly eye-catching application the writing, resume structure, and supplemental materials need to be perfect and we can help with that and much more.
Legacy status will help your child get into Dartmouth, but it’s not everything. They need to be a highly competitive candidate and have a knockout application. Sometimes this can be a bit of a shock to parents. Especially ones who were sure their kid would get in no problem. But we are always here to help if you need it. We hope we answered some of your burning questions about legacy admissions, but we would always love to help if you have more.
Need more? Reach out here.